There is a region that is scarcely talked about in our information stream, and yet it contains considerable quantities of minerals that have become indispensable to the modern economy: lithium, cobalt, coltan and other compounds useful for the manufacture of telephones and batteries.
It is a poor region, prey to endless wars and where the promise of better days has been unfulfilled for decades. This region is the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the heart of the African continent.
Unsurprisingly, this is a geopolitical battleground between China, which has set its sights on African commodities for twenty years, and the United States, which has waged a cold war against its 21st century rival. In the region, a tug-of-war is underway between Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and the powerful Chinese economic interests attracted to the country by his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
Secret clause
In 2008, the DRC, led by Kabila, signed what was then described as the “contract of the century” between a Chinese company and the public mining company Gécamines for the extraction of copper, of which the country is extremely rich. China advanced six billion dollars, of which a part destined for the development of the region, and over the years it has recovered the investment thanks to the revenues of Gécamines.
Thirteen years later we are still a long way from paying off the debt. According to a report from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, just one billion has been paid out at the moment. Local populations haven’t seen a cent and opacity reigns supreme over the Gécamines accounts. According to the report, a secret clause in the 2008 contract defines the distribution of dividends, and the damage to the state would be “unprecedented in the history of the Congo”.
President Tshisekedi has called for a review of mining contracts with the Chinese company, a move that could push him on a collision course not only with Beijing but also with former president Kabila, ousted from power but still close to the circles that matter.
Bloody devices
The story is delicate because the revelation of possible embezzlement is part of a political struggle that dates back to the disputed elections of 2019. Nobody knows how it will end, and Kabila is not the type to be discouraged.
Then there are relations with Beijing. So far the Chinese embassy has been conciliatory, underlining that if Chinese companies “make a mistake” they will be punished and expelled from the DRC. But it would be naïve not to take into account the fact that the story illuminates the predatory practices that exploit the corruption of local leaders to get the most out of it. China will not miss out on these strategic investments in the mining sector.
Beyond the skirmishes, the truth is that the entire mining sector in the DRC needs to be cleaned up. Investors from China, Canada, Australia and other countries are all too often accused of illegal practices. There are positive initiatives such as the Fair Cobalt Alliance, but unfortunately the controls are not effective. Perhaps the time has come for consumers around the world to ask themselves how their coveted digital devices are manufactured, because they are often stained with blood.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)
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